Hallelujah and Amen is the same in any language...

Sunday morning in Addis Ababa.

I thought I was getting a van so

that we could fit more kids on the

way to church Sunday morning,

but as it turned out

I ended up with two cars.

The first car picked me up,

and the second headed for Kolfe.

  So, getting to Fekadu

and Kibret's church was like

unwrapping your Christmas presents...

What's inside? 

I was anxious to figure out which

boys had decided to venture out

to the Protestant church,

instead of their usual Orthodox worship.

Biniyam, Mezgebu, Ayal,

Emnatu and Gizachew

We have had so many talks about faith,

 including a few days before

when one of the boys asked me

to share my faith with the group

of boys sitting around the dorm room,

but it is a different thing to

venture out to a church

 you know will be different

from what you are used to.

We ended up being late for church,

not a big deal unless you have

7 people who hoped to sit together.

The boys were visibly scared
heading into church,

 this was made worse when
we were seated in at least

4 or 5 different spots
throughout the congregation.

I had to laugh when
1/2 way through the service,

Fekadu got a text message.
I am not a texter, so I said,

"Really?  You're texting
during the service?"

Turns out, it was Gizachew letting
me know they were all okay.

Loved the chance to hold my driver,
Kibret's son, he was adorable!

 If you have been to Africa,

you know the drill...

A white woman shows up at church,

and as much as she really, really wants

 to sit in the back (with her kids)

she gets seated waaaaay up front 

in the second row.

(Funny, Kyle, Kristelle, Lana and I were in the

 2nd row of the Burundi Church in July)

So, Fekadu and I squeezed into a row that

had two women and a man in it, and really

would only fit one more person comfortably.

 - - - - -

Gradually over the next 20 mins or so,

little boys began squeezing

their way into our row.

First, the man was forced

to move to another seat.

Then, his wife.

The last woman hung on

for as long as she could,

but by the time Fekadu

and I had 5 little boys,

and one itty bitty toddler with us 

(ha, no idea WHO he belonged to)

the woman knew there was nothing

that could be done, but to move.

All of the boys wanted to touch my

white skin and my hair,

and I said "Adelum" (no) more times

 than I can remember to stop them

 from fighting over me.

 - - - - - - -

Amongst all of this commotion,

were the beautiful sounds of

African voices singing praises to our God.

The very first song the choir sang,

was one that I knew well, only,

I didn't know the Amharic words,

so I sang out with gusto in English.

What a blessing to start

with something familiar.

 

Before heading back to Kolfe,

we stopped by an

Italian Restaurant for lunch.

I now wish I had done this more...

Only Gizachew had been out to eat before.

Emnatu, Mezgebu, Biniyam, and even Ayal

(who has been out on his own for 3 years)

had never been to a restaurant.

 - - -

Emnatu was so nervous,

he didn't want to order.

"Mom, can you order for me?"

Why did I not take this

kid out to eat sooner??

Above, at the bottom of this photo....

You can see Emnatu's plate,

he and Biniyam were

the only ones who ventured

out to get something

other than a traditional Ethiopian dish.

Both boys ordered chicken.

I asked them both if they had

ever used a fork and knife before.

It was so cute, they both said no,

and proceeded to eat very carefully.

Neither one wanting to mess up.

After they had finished, they wanted me to

judge their plates to see who had

done a better job with the utensils.

Emnatu won... there is no meat

 left on that chicken bone!

Kibret on the left, Fekadu on the right...

I had to laugh,

when I got ready to eat my first bite,

I noticed there were 7 pairs of eyes on me.

"What??  Why are you all looking at me?"

They laughed and said,

"We never see you eat!"

Very true, very true...

 - - - - - - -

John loves this photo, because he thinks

Kibret looks like TC from one of

his favorite 80s shows,  Ma*gnum PI.